Woman dead, child among 3 critical in Bronx fire

One woman was killed and three others, including a child, were critically hurt in a house fire in the Bronx early Friday.

The flames broke out in the attached home on Swinton Avenue in the Throgs Neck section just before 4 a.m.

Most of the flames were on the first floor, which briefly delayed firefighters from reaching the victims who were in the upstairs bedrooms.

One man and three women were pulled by firefighters from the building.

Ramon Velez, Jr. is one of four people pulled from the burning house overnight. Velez's 5-year-old granddaughter Reina and his 75-year-old mother in law are also hospitalized. But Velez's wife 55-year-old Ketty Lamarche died of smoke inhalation.

Velez, Jr. is the son of the late Bronx City Councilman Ramon S. Velez, Sr.

The father, Ramon S. Velez, was beloved by many Bronx residents in the 1970s and 80s, but derided by politicians like former Mayor Ed Koch.